Canada relaxes entry requirements for vaccinated travellers

Canada has eased entry requirements for fully vaccinated international travellers who will no longer need a molecular Covid-19 test to enter.

Fully vaccinated travellers will now be able to enter with antigen tests - generally cheaper and faster than molecular tests.

The federal government has also dropped its travel advisory, warning Canadians to avoid international travel.

The changes come as Covid-19 cases drop across the country.

Canada's top doctor said earlier this month that the country had passed its peak of the latest wave driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

Canada saw a steep rise in case counts beginning in December, before infections began to plateau in the final days of January.

The relaxed entry rules will be reassessed in the coming weeks, with an eye on dropping testing requirements entirely for fully vaccinated Canadians who make short trips - less than 72 hours.

Under the new policy, vaccinated travellers will be able to chose between using a negative rapid antigen test no more than one day before traveling, or a molecular test within 72 hours of their departing flight. Those selected for random testing upon arrival will also no longer need to quarantine while awaiting results.

Unvaccinated Canadians can take a rapid test before they board a plane, but will need to take a molecular test once they land, as well as eight days later, and isolate for two weeks.

Some 80% of Canadians are fully vaccinated and more than 40% have also taken a booster dose.

Several provinces including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Ontario - Canada's most populous province - have recently announced a roll back of pandemic restrictions amid the steady decline of infections.

Opposition to such restrictions drove a weeks-long protest in Ottawa as well as a number of border crossings, disrupting trade and paralysing the downtown core of Canada's capital city.

Demonstrators were cleared from Ottawa earlier this month after a tense stand-off with police.